Oroville man in prison for RV park murder dies from illness

RENO — An Oroville man serving a life sentence in prison for a fatal 2009 shooting in Oroville has died, less than a year after he was convicted and sentenced.

James Thomas Boll, 69, of Oroville, died from an illness Sept. 20 at Renown Medical Center in Reno.

Boll's death was confirmed Monday by Washoe County Medical-Legal Death Investigations representative Colleen Horton.

Boll died of non-Hodgkins lymphoma, Horton said.

Last year, Boll was convicted by a jury of second-degree murder for the shooting death of Charles John Morrison, 48.

He was sentenced in October 2011 to serve a minimum of 40 years on a life sentence.

Boll and Morrison were neighbors at the Mount Vista Mobile and RV Park in Oroville.

Tensions between the two had been mounting over several months in 2009, particularly over Boll's cats defecating under Morrison's trailer, where Boll used to live.

The disputes came to a head on Dec. 18, 2009, when Morrison allegedly left his pickup truck running outside of Boll's trailer.

Armed with a .45-caliber handgun, Boll shot at Morrison 15 times, striking him 11 times, according to testimony during the trial and sentencing. At one point he reloaded the gun and resumed shooting.

During the trial and at sentencing, Boll insisted that he shot Morrison out of fear for his own life.

Butte County Deputy District Attorney Neils Bringsjord, who prosecuted the case, said in a phone call Monday that he learned of Boll's death through a letter from one of Boll's sisters. He also confirmed Boll had been serving his sentence at High Desert State Prison in Susanville.

In a phone interview Tuesday. Boll's niece, Melissa Knopper, of Denver, Col., said he was born June 22, 1943, in Ventura. At the age of 9, he moved to Biggs with his family, and lived in the area off and on. He also lived in Grass Valley, and lived at the RV park in Oroville for 10 years before the shooting.

Knopper said her uncle was a Vietnam veteran who served in the Air Force from 1964 to 1968. He was stationed in the Philippines, where he worked as a mechanic repairing airplanes. He left the Air Force with an honorable discharge.

After the military, Boll traveled a lot and ended up working in Yosemite at photographer Ansel Adams's studio.

Knopper said he had been a wedding photographer and took candid photos at her wedding.

"He could really catch people's personalities," she said.

Boll later drove long-haul trucks.

During the last three years of his life in jail, Boll became "quite religious" and sang "Amazing Grace" to the people around him at the jail.

"I really think his faith helped him get through it," Knopper said "I think he stayed pretty upbeat."

She also insisted there are a lot of people who loved her uncle. "He was a kind, creative, gentle person, and people loved him," she said. "We feel what happened was a real tragedy."

Despite the shooting and conviction, he's remembered by Knopper as a good uncle, who gave her a lot of support.

"There was a lot more to him than you would read in the headlines," Knopper said.

Staff writer Barbara Arrigoni can be reached at 533-3136, barrigoni@orovillemr.com, or on Twitter @OMRBarbara.